The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-04-13
the INTERSTATE BILL.
How II VIII Affect New EnGIand's
Business.
Railroad Commissioner MortIand's
Views on the Subject.
ALaw That VIII Do Much More Harm
Than Good.

sections Of the bill can but be Of weight.
How will litaffect New England?'' queried
our reporter.
Il cannot conceive Of any beneficial results
likely to be derived by the people Of New
England from the enactment Of the law.
While there may have been a few isolated
cases Of apparent unjust discrimination on
the part OF some railroads, toward certain
localities, such determinations were, / be-
lleve, In every instance, brought albut by
force OF circumstances, rather than by any
aeslre on the part Of railroad managers 10
Iavor one locality more than another. /
think the effect Of the law will be TO iniure.
land"
@How win they be Injured?"
,,,,,.ity @ my mind, the reasons are almost too
numerous 70 mention, TheprOyisions Of the
law relate 70 common carriers engaged In
transportation OF passengers or property
wholly by railroad, or partly by railroad and
partly by water, tchen both are used under q
ns conss'on control, management or arrange
nent, Jor continuous carriage or shipment"
Independent lines Of steamboats, are In no
way affected by its provisions. They can
9iScrimlnate or not, as they please, as they
dld before the day Of railroads, and do now
% wnere they are not in competition with rail-
roads. ~ Is an old saying that competition
Is the life OF trade" but the object Of this
Dill, so Tar as New England Is concerned
seems to have been 10 break down the com
petition where 1t exists between railroads
ana steamboat lines, and prevent railroads
from competing with steamboats, and other
water craft, for the carrying trade Of certain
localities. The railroads and business inter-
estS OF the State Of Maine must be seriously
anected by reason Of the law. Heretofore
by such contracts, agreements and arrange
ments, made with through lines Of railroads
70 the west and south, we In Maine were en-
aDled TO have The great products OF the west,
such as grain, flour, ETC., set down at our
doors in Portland, Bangor, Belfast, Rock
land, and other seaport cities and towns, at
nearly, II not quite, as low a rate for trans
portatlon as Boston and New York, and were
at the same time enabled to load the empty
ears that brought the products Of the west TO
our our doors with our granite, lime, lumber,
wherever our people could find market,
and at a reduced rate of fare, simply because
these throug lines Of railroads could make a
small margin OF profit in carrying our pro-
unetS over what they otherwise would by
running their cars back to the west empty.
All these special contracts and arrangements
are now forbidden by this law. True, these sea
board cities and towns had in 1.-THE past one
advantage over those In the interior, because
railroad corporations were obliged to give
tnese places lower rates on account Of being
Drought into direct competition with vessels
and established lines OF steamboats, on our
coas9 and numerous rivers. 1t costs money
70 Duild, maintain and operate railroads.
Much OF the freighting, especially the pro-
ducts of this State, can be delivered at less
COST Dy water, than by land, therefore unless
our railroads are allowed 10 make such spec
lal contracts, agreements and arrangements
with outside lines as heretofore. they cam
not, on the seab0ard, compete with sailing
vessels or steamboats,, neither can they un
DER this law. contract to carry our products
TO the west and south at the rate which they
formerly did, because BY 50 doing they viii,
under the provisions Of this law, be obliged
70 reduce all local privileges In correspond
ing degree, which they cannot afford TO do"
fou speak OF its effect on the seaboard
How viii Il effect the interior towns and cit
les OF our State?"
stsd cannot mo ,, see wherein they win be bene-
out OF your pocket does not make me any
rlcner unless get the dollar myself. Tt will
not make the business men doing business In
tne interior, any more prosperous or richer,
iron from tne TACT that some one on the seaboard
mas failed. Whatever tends 10 build up, or
enrich one portion Of our State, indirectly
nelps all portions. III Ii were not for the
business given to railroads by the cities and
towns on our seaboard and navigable rivers,
rev rev railroads would have been built or main
talned In Maine. But think the effect Of
the law will be as injurious In many respects
70 the Interior Of our State, as ON the sea-
board. Take the county Of AroostOok, the
greatest producing county In the State, with
an area Of square miles nearly equal to the
State Of Massachusetts,, with no line Of rail-
road reaching into II. except through
the providence OF New Brunswick, The
principal products Of that county are lumber.
nay, grain and potatoes. The market for
where In the State. II shipped BY railroad
now, the road must charge local rates for
hauling those products from a hundred to a
hundred and fifty miles over an indict route,
through the province Of New Brunswick,
-. Fof 10 Il
otner OF the States. because the provisions OF
TINS law cover shipments through "any ad-
Jacent foreign country" as well as from
one State into another. How then can those
bulky products be got to market unless the
railroad Is allowed 10 make such special
terms with the producer as will Induce him
OF enable him TO ship them 10 market This
Is only one side OF the question. The same
results follow the shipments into that county
from any source BY railroad. Even, to-day,
rs, see IL stated IN the papers that the mills OF
Watervilleand Madison and other places In
tne interior are likely to be seriously affected
Dy the llaw as they are situated SO far from
tnelr markets. Heretofore they have been
aple 70 obtain special rates on the railroads,
which have largely removed the Disadvantage
OF their situation. l see no advantages to
De derived by any Of the citizens Of Maine.
on account OF these provisions Of law, but
rather rather injury to commerce and trade in
What win be its effect ON the business
OF such railroads as the Knox & Lincoln?'
Inat VIII depend very much upon the
terms which connecting roads may be able
70 give them, under the re-arrangement OF
t.asriI1s, .sn rs made necessary by the provisions Of
the law. doubt II such rates can be OBJ
talned as Will enable manufacturers to ship
Oy railroad such commodities as lime cut
granite, etc, as heretofore, because the
principal markets for such products
are on the seaboard, such as Portland. Bos-
ton and New York, and places In the viciff-
W OF them, and II railroads are obliged TO
cnarge local rates, the manufacturers can
ship to one Of these places by water, and
tnene thence to points wherever a market may be
But the commission provided by this law
nave power on application and investigation,
70 authorize railroads TO charge less for
longer than for a shorter dlstance2'
That Is true; but II every railroad corpo-
ration In the country that will be injured by
this provision Of the law, should apply TO
the commission for relief. and they should
attempt, even partially, to investigate each
case, the. commission would be unable TO
render decision In all cases before the ap-
pllcants died Of old age"
you speak Of freight traffice. How about
passengers? WIN railroads, under the pro-
visions OF this law, be obliged to charge local
rates from points in this State. say to Bos-
"Well, that is somewhat doubtful Some
sections OF the law are as hard TO interpret
rightly as some passages Of Scripture. The
law provides as follows;
Sec. 4-That IL shall be unlawful for any com
mon carrier, subject 10 the provisions Of this act
70 charge or receive any greater compensation ~
hesdggregQte, for the transportation OF passen-
gers, orof like kind OF property, under substan-
tally similar circumstances and conditions, for a
shorter than for longer distance over the same
line, In the same direction, the shorter being In
cluded Within the longer distance; but this shall
not be construed as authorizing any common car
rer within tne Terms OF this act ~ charge and re-
celye as great compensation for shorter as for a
longer distance.
Il think the man who constructed the fore
going section ought TO be awarded a leather
medal. What effect the words ''lalder s1tb-
stdntldtty similar circumstances and c0ndi-
tons, maylhave upon the rest of the balder-
dash above quoted, / am unable to sav. Pos
slOiy IL may be so construed as 10 permit lin
tied tickets to be sold at reduced rates.
How about passes?''
IN, don't see anything to hinder rail-
ROAD companies under the exceptions In
sectl0n ~, giving out as many passes as they
please s.1s 70 All except newspaper men,"
4, shoW 40 you account for such a large vote
IN iayor Oh this law in Congress?"
wen, not on account Of any merit In the
law Itself, but on account Of pressure from
the west and south. Members OF Congress
are mostly politicians, and ready 10 vote for
any and every measure, whatever Il may be,
the pressure Of which they think, may help
them 10 be returned another term. but what
induced New England members TO favor u,
the Lord only knows. New England has no